Transfer mechanism for counting apparatus



Dec. 30, 1952 E. A. ERICSSON ET AL TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR COUNTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 4, 1951 llz/uelzfboz S E.A.E1L'cso1b i ilfiez Fig.3

Patented Dec. 30, 1952 TRANSFER MECHANISMFOR'COUNTING APPARATUS Eric Arvid Ericsson and Eric Axel Wiberg, Stockholm, Sweden, assignors to Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson, Stockholm, Sweden, a company of Sweden Application January 4, 1951, Serial No. 204,320 In Sweden January '25, 1950 2 Claims. 1

The present invention refers to that kind of counting apparatus, which comprises a number of round digit drums concentrically mounted and a number of gears, also concentrically mounted, which gears are intended to drive and respectively be driven by said digit drums.

In such counting apparatus, the digit drums are usually made so that the side surfaces perpendicular to the symmetry axis are provided with one or more pins or teeth which are to mesh in the corresponding clearances between the teeth of the cog wheel gear pertaining to a digit drum. It has however proved, that in order to function in the required manner the digit drums and the gears of said counting apparatuses must have very small allowances, which are difficult to achieve practically. In a counting apparatus according to our invention said requirement for small allowances disappears owing to one of the end surfaces of said digit drums being provided with a concentrical upstanding annular shoulder, the greatest radius of which is smaller than the smallest distance from the drum axis to the pin of said end surface, and owing to the transfer gears being provided with a guiding flange, on both sides of which cogs are arranged, which cogs have no part extending outwardly from their own axis as far as the outer edge of the guiding flange.

The invention will be described more clearly with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a part of a counting apparatus according to the invention, Fig. 2 shows a side-view of a digit drum with its upstanding annular shoulder, Fig. 3 shows the same digit drum from the other side with its pins placed peripherally, and Fig. 4 shows a side-view of a transfer gear. a

In Fig. 1, the two digit drums or wheels SI and S2 mounted concentrically and two gears DI and D2, also concentrically mounted, are shown. Several drums and gears are usually required for a complete counting apparatus, but the shown units are quite sufficient to illustrate the invention. The digit drums are mounted on a common shaft A. One of their side surfaces is provided with a number of pins KI, K2 placed peripherally, which pins are intended to mesh in the corresponding clearances between the cogs of the transfer gear. The other side surface of the digit drum S2 is provided with a concentrical upstanding annular shoulder G2 and with a pin KM2, the smallest distance from any point thereof to the axis of the drums being greater than the greatest radius of said annular shoulder G2, Fig. 2. The

gears DI and D2 are mounted on a common shaft B, and each provided with a guiding flange Ml, M2, intended to rest on one side on one or several of the pins of a digit drum and on the other side against the annular shoulder G2 of the following digit drum. Cog wheel formations Fl and El, F2 and E2 are arranged on each side of the guiding flanges, the greatest distance from the center of the cog wheels to a point on a cog being smaller than the greatest radius of the guiding flanges. The shafts A and B are "parallel to each other and at such a distance, that after the counting apparatus is assembled the guiding flanges of the transfer gears protrude between the pins of a digit drum and the annular shoulder G2 of the next digit drum; that is, the sum of a guiding flange radius and the exterior radius of an annular shoulder must be greater than the distance between the axes of shafts A and B.

In order to obtain a suitable clearance between the movable parts, the axial displacement of the gear D2 is limited by a distance piece H. The total clearance for all the movable parts is set by means of a lip L, which is rigidly fixed to the casing of the counting apparatus and presses with its free end against the digit drum SI. To prevent as much as possible the tilting of the movable parts, it is suitable to have the contact surface of the lip L and the contact surface between the movable parts face each other axially. It is obvious, that the lip L may instead rest against a gear, and that the distance piece H may be exchanged for some other device for setting of the axial displacement of the movable parts.

The function of the counting apparatus is the following: When the gear D2 is displaced one step forward for example by a digit drum S3 not shown in Fig. l, the digit drum S2 is also brought forward one step by transmission over the row of cogs F2 and one of the pins K2. When the digit drum S2 has been displaced forwards a certain number of steps, the pin KM2 is in such a position, that after one more step of the gear D2 it displaces the gear DI and thereafter also the digit drum S! one step.

We claim:

1. In a counting device, a casing, a plurality of cylindrical number Wheels concentrically mounted within said casing and having end faces at right angles to the axis of symmetry of said number wheels, a plurality of pins on one face of each number wheel, a concentric annular shoulder on the opposite face of each number wheel, a pin on the latter face of each number wheel outside said shoulder, a plurality of transfer pinions each having a central guiding flange and gear teeth on both sides of the guiding flange, the greatest distance from the center of each transfer pinion to any tooth surface thereon being smaller than the greatest radius of the guiding flange, the gear teeth on one side of the guiding flange being adapted to be engaged by the lastmentioned pin on one number wheel and the gear teeth on the opposite side of the guiding flange being adapted to engage the first-mentioned pins on the adjacent number wheel, and a lip rigidly connected integral at one end with the casing and. at the other end forming a 'stopto limit the axial motion of the number wheels and the transfer pinions.

2. A counting device in accordance with claim 1, in which the end of said lip forming the stop is positioned on the line of contact between the guiding flanges of the transfer pinions and the 4 respective annular shoulders and said first-men tioned pins.

ERIC ARVID ERICSSON.

ERIC AXEL WIBERG.

REFERENCES CITED I a The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 34,665 Young Mar. 11, 1862 1,192,193 Hart July 25, 1916 1,482,596 Berge Feb. 5, 1924 1,743,562 Mombur Jan. 14, 1930 1,919,493 Zubaty July 25, 1933 2,117,024 Helgeby et a1 May 10, 1938 2,351,814 Holzner June 20, 1944 2,483,359 Bliss Sept. 27, 1949 

